Hottest Chili Peppers

Among Chili lovers and connoisseur, there has been a competition starts from 90s to grow the hottest chili pepper of the world. Chili pepper species and cultivars registering over 1,000,000 SHU(Scoville Heat units) are classified as "SUPER-HOTS". Early Guinness World Record holders (in ascending order of hotness/heat) are the ghost pepper, Infinity chili, Trinidad Moruga scorpion, Naga Viper pepper, and Trinidad Scorpion Butch T. The current record holder, declared in 2017, is the Carolina Reaper, at more than 1.6 million Scoville Heat units(SHU).

Carolina Reaper

(around 1,641,183 - 2,192,431 SHU)

The Carolina Reaper is a cultivar of the Capsicum chinense plant. Developed by American breeder Ed Currie, the pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail. In 2017, Guinness World Records declared it the hottest chili pepper in the world, surpassing the previous record set by the Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T".

Trinidad Scorpio Butch T

(around 1,000,000 - 1,463,700 SHU)

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T is a Capsicum chinense cultivar that is among the hottest peppers in the world. It is indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago. It was named by Neil Smith from The Hippy Seed Company, after he got the seeds originally from Butch Taylor (the owner of Zydeco Farms in Woodville/Crosby, Mississippi, and a hot sauce company) who is responsible for propagating the pepper's seeds. The "scorpion" peppers are referred to as such because the pointed end of the pepper is said to resemble a scorpion's stinger.

Naga Viper

(around 1,382,118 SHU)

The Naga Viper pepper is a hot chili pepper. In 2011, it was recorded as the "World's Hottest Chili" by the Guinness World Records with a rating of 1,382,118 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), but was surpassed in SHU by the current world record holder the Carolina Reaper in 2017.

Trinidad Moruga scorpion

(around 1,200,000 SHU)

The Trinidad Moruga scorpion (Capsicum chinense) is a chili pepper native to the village of Moruga, Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of the spiciest chilies in the world. In 2012, New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute identified the Trinidad Moruga scorpion as the hottest chili at that time, with heat of 1.2 million Scoville heat units (SHUs). In 2017 according to Guinness World Records, the hottest pepper was the Carolina Reaper, with 1.6 million SHU.

Infinity Chili

(around 1,067,286 SHU)

The Infinity Chili pepper is a chili pepper hybrid of the Capsicum chinense species created in England by chili breeder Nicholas Woods of Fire Foods, Grantham, Lincolnshire. For two weeks in February 2011, the Infinity Chili held the Guinness World Record title for the world's hottest chili with a Scoville scale rating of 1,067,286 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). On March 1, 2011, it was displaced by the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper, which registered 1,463,700 SHU.

Ghost Pepper

(around 1,001,304 SHU)

The ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia (which literally means 'Bhutan pepper' in Assamese), is an interspecific hybrid chili pepper cultivated in Northeast India. It is a hybrid of Capsicum chinense and Capsicum frutescens. In 2007, Guinness World Records certified that the ghost pepper was the world's hottest chili pepper, 170 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. The ghost chili is rated at more than one million Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). However, in the race to grow the hottest chili pepper, the ghost chili was superseded by the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper in 2011 and the Carolina Reaper in 2013.

Red Savina pepper

(350,000-577,000 SHU)

The Red Savina pepper is a cultivar of the habanero chili (Capsicum chinense Jacquin), which has been selectively bred to produce spicier, heavier, and larger fruit, ultimately more potent than its derivative. Frank Garcia of GNS Spices, in Walnut, California, is credited as the developer of the Red Savina, but the exact methodology that Garcia used to select the hottest breeding strains is not publicly known.

Some Mentions Claimed but not yet confirmed by any authoritative institute.

Pepper X

(unconfirmed 3,800,000 SHU)

Pepper X is a cultivar of Capsicum chili pepper bred by Ed Currie, creator of the Carolina Reaper. Pepper X resulted from several cross breedings that produced an exceptionally high content of capsaicin in the locules of the pepper. The exceptional pungency of the chili was developed over 10 years of cultivation. According to Currie, he started developing Pepper X as he found his favorite chili peppers too mild and wanted to have a pepper that had more heat while retaining the flavor.

Dragon's Breath

(unconfirmed 2.48 million SHU)

Dragon's Breath is a chili pepper cultivar that unofficially tested at 2.48 million Scoville units.

Komodo Dragon

(unconfirmed 1.4 million SHU)

The Komodo Dragon is reportedly one of the hottest chili peppers in the world, at around 1.4 million Scoville heat units. The pepper was announced in 2015, and went on sale in Tesco stores. The pepper is notable also for what was described as a "delayed reaction"-Eleanor Mansell, who buys chili peppers for Tesco, said, "At first you can taste a wonderful hot fruitiness, but then after about 10 seconds the full might of this little demon hits you and your whole mouth is aglow".

Naga Morich

(1 million SHU)

The Naga Morich, also known as Naga Moriç in Sylheti is a chili pepper grown in Northeast India and Bangladesh. There is no consensus on whether this is synonymous with the Bhut Jolokia, or a different variety. It is also one of the hottest known chilli peppers and the only naturally occurring chili pepper that measures 1 million SHU on Scoville scale.